Trains ground to a halt in France on Thursday, schools were shut and refinery shipments blocked as workers walked off their jobs in an attempt to derail the government’s plans to raise the retirement age by two years to 64, according to Reuters.
The nationwide day of strikes and protests is a major test for President Emmanuel Macron, who says his flagship reform, which opinion polls show is very unpopular, is vital to ensure the pension system does not go bust.
The challenge for unions is whether they can transform that opposition to the reform – and anger with a cost-of-living crisis – into a mass social protest that would eventually force the government to change its plans.
Protests rallies are scheduled throughout France. A majority of trains around France are cancelled, including some international connections, according to the SNCF rail authority. About 20% of flights out of Paris’ Orly Airport are canceled and airlines are warning of delays.
Union leaders, expected to announce more strikes and protests in the evening, said Thursday was just the beginning.
For Macron, at stake are his reformist credentials, both at home and with his European Union peers, as well as keeping public spending in check.
Pushing back the retirement age by two years and extending the pay-in period would bring additional 17.7 billion euros in annual pension contributions, allowing the system to break even by 2027, according to Labour Ministry estimates.
“This reform is necessary and fair,” Labour Minister Olivier Dussopt told LCI TV. Unions argue there are other ways to ensure the viability of the pension system such as taxing the super-rich or increasing employers’ contributions or those of well-off pensioners.
French power supply was reduced at eight nuclear reactors and at some hydropower plants due to the strike, utility group EDF said.
Macron and several of his ministers will be in Barcelona on Thursday for a meeting with Spanish officials, drawing criticism from unions for being away from the country at the time of strikes and protests.